


Swans

by Liza1031



Series: Harringrove One-Shots [36]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort, Divorce, Domestic Billy Hargrove, Harrington-Hargrove Child, Kid Fic, M/M, Parents Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Past Mpreg, Protective Billy Hargrove, Soft Billy Hargrove, stranger things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-11
Updated: 2020-12-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28001502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liza1031/pseuds/Liza1031
Summary: Battle of divorced parents.One-shot based on the song Swans from the artist Unkle Bob.
Relationships: Past Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington - Relationship, Steve Harrington/Original Male Character
Series: Harringrove One-Shots [36]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987054
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	Swans

**Author's Note:**

> Jake inspired by the character Jake Jagielski from One Tree Hill. I love Bryan Greenberg so it's easy to associate a cute face with his character ;)

Billy had just gotten off work and was on his way over to Steve’s apartment for their daughter’s fifth birthday party. It was hard to believe that his little munchkin was halfway to being in the double digits but she was still a baby in his eyes.

He hopped off the subway once it pulled up to his stop and jogged up the steps until he was hit with the crisp Autumn air in New York City. He didn’t need to walk far considering his old apartment was about two blocks from the subway.

When he arrived at the building, he had her one of her gifts tucked under his arm, along with his work satchel hanging off his left shoulder. He took the elevator up to the twenty third floor and made his way down to apartment 23G.

Billy knocks on the door and can hear the rowdiness of a bunch of kids screaming and giggling on the other side. He smiles as the door opens revealing his ex-husband.

“Hey Billy. So glad you could make it.” Steve says as he welcomes Billy inside. “I’ll take that.” He points to the gift which Billy hands over as he removes his work satchel jacket.

“So where is our birthday girl?” Billy asks, scanning the room filled with a bunch of kindergartners.

“Um she’s right-”

“Daddy!” Peyton came running from the living room with a tiara secured on her head.

“Hey baby!” Billy picks up his daughter and sets her on his hip. “Happy birthday, bug.”

“Thank you daddy.” She says as she wraps her arms around his neck and gives him a firm squeeze. “Do you like my hair? Momma did it for my party.” She asks.

Peyton had two pigtails with bows at the end and some glitter hairspray to hold it all together and make her look extra magical.

“I love it, baby.” Billy kisses her cheek and sets her back down.

The two men watch her run off to her friends in the living room, and were then approached by Jake, Steve’s current boyfriend and a fellow classmate of theirs from high school.

“Hello Billy.”

“Jake.” Billy plainly smiles at him and has his arms crossed over his chest.

Steve and Billy are divorced and share their five-year-old daughter, Peyton.

They got together after Jake and Steve broke off their engagement and broke up, and they had a kid together. They love their little girl so much and tried their best to make things work for her but they got a divorce because they simply both fell out of love and there was no bad blood involved and still remain close acquaintances at least for their daughter’s sake.

Steve then went back to Jake, who still doesn’t like Billy and vice versa, but Billy has simply grown up and matured since high school and wants to look past their differences so they can at least be somewhat acquainted if Jake’s going to be sticking around long enough to be in Billy’s daughter’s life.

“Daddy c’mere!” Peyton shouts to her father.

Billy excused himself from where he was standing and joined his daughter in the living room.

“Something wrong, Jake?” Steve asks, noticing the visible scowl on his face.

“Nothing.” Jake shrugs, obviously lying to his boyfriend.

Steve sighs and runs his hand through his hair. “Look, I know you’re mad that he’s here but he’s her father Jake whether you like it or not. He’s in her life and will always be in her life, you have no say in it.”

“I know.” Jake sighs as well with a slight eye roll.

“Plus it’s his weekend to have her so after the party she’ll be going over to his place while you and I get another date night out of it.” Steve adds and gives Jake a quick peck on the cheek.

Steve then walks away from Jake to go pull the cake from the fridge so they can sing happy birthday to Peyton.

Jake went back to the kids in the living room where Billy was and took back his spot on the couch.

“Alright so where was I?” He asks.

“It’s okay Jakey. Daddy took over.” Peyton supplies him and he eyes Billy as he helps the kids make their own crowns or tiaras as it was the theme of her party.

“Oh okay. I’ll just go over here then.” Jake got up and walked up both disappointed and hurt. Every time he tried to do something for Peyton, Billy just always had to come along and top him. He walks over to the buffet in the dining room and huffs through his nose, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, throwing an internal tantrum that he didn’t get his way.

Don’t get him wrong, Jake loved Peyton. She was adorable. He simply wants to think of them as friends, however there are times when he gets over himself and tries to punish or discipline her. Steve doesn’t allow him to have those rights yet. Only Steve, Billy, or any of her close family members are allowed to discipline her if she misbehaves. He doesn’t want Jake to have that power knowing he may abuse it. But he just couldn’t seem to get the girl’s attention away from her father, he was her hero and Jake was like nothing to her.

By the end of the night, the party guests had gone and the apartment was a mess. Steve, Jake, and Billy were picking up with garbage bags in hand while the birthday girl was laying on the couch partied out from her extravagant day.

The boys had cleaned up most of the mess, Steve telling them he’d finish up tomorrow. Billy then went to go wash his hands before going to wake up his daughter.

Jake had jumped in the shower so he could get ready for his date with Steve, letting the two former husbands say bye to each other.

“Peyton, wake up baby.” Billy gently shook her body until her eyes fluttered and opened. “Ready to go?” He asks her.

She nods and sits up holding her arms out, wanting Billy to carry her.

Billy wraps her arms around his daughter and lifts her off the couch, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. Steve handed Billy his bag and jacket then kissed his daughter on the cheek as they made their way to the front door.

“Have a good weekend.”

“Thanks, you too.”

“We will.” Steve says as they step out of the apartment. “Bye guys.”

“Bye Steve.”

“Bye momma.” Peyton mumbles into Billy’s neck.

Both men laugh and Steve says bye to his daughter once more before closing the door. He turns around and sees the mass of opened presents sitting on his dining room table with all the cards to go with them so he knows who to send a thank you note for.

Billy and his Peyton made it back to his apartment not as late as he thought. He laid her down in her bed then went off to his room to get ready for bed himself. He took a quick shower then put on some lounge clothes before exiting the bathroom because there’s been a few times Peyton’s snuck into his bed and he’s come out of the bathroom with only a towel on, so he saves himself the embarrassment, plus this time was one of those times.

Peyton had made herself comfy in her daddy’s bed waiting for him to come out of the bathroom. When the door opens she hides her face behind her stuffed elephant and he smirks, shutting off the bathroom light.

“I guess you’re sleeping in here tonight?” He asks.

Peyton nods and he gets under the covers beside her, sighing once he gets himself situated.

“Daddy, why don’t you like Jakey.” She asks.

“Well, it’s not that I don’t like him, it's just he tries to be your father sometimes and he’s not. I’m your father.”

“But why is he always so mean to you?”

Billy wasn’t ready to tell her about the times they shared in high school and all the taunting he did to both Steve and Jake, so he had to come up with something.  
“I guess Jake just doesn't understand that he holds a much different standard than momma and I do.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well put it this way, if Jake and momma get married then he’ll become your step-dad. But I will always be your daddy and no one can ever change that or take that away from us.” He tells her, watching as her face tries to understand what he’s saying. “Put it this way, Jake is trying to gain your acceptance of him being in your life.”

“I like Jakey, daddy. Sometimes we play makeovers and it’s really fun.”

“I bet it is. Jake’s good with that, so see, there’s something you two can bond over.”

“Yeah. I think he’s a good person.” She says and Billy smiles.

Even though he may not like him, it was nice to hear that his daughter was starting to accept him into her life. They talked some more then he kissed her goodnight before turning off the light so they could get some sleep.

Once he knew Peyton was out cold, he turned on his small reading lap and pulled out an old photo album he keeps hidden in his bedside table. This was from when he and Steve were together. It holds pictures of them when they first started dating, to their wedding, and the birth of their first child. He does miss Steve but everyone moves on in a relationship at some point. He never lost respect for Steve, after all he is the mother of their child, he just wishes they were still together, but he doesn’t want to come between Steve’s relationship with Jake knowing that won’t end well for anyone.

**-Few Weeks Later-**

Peyton had just come home from school and was in the living room eating her usual after school snack, apple slices with peanut butter and an organic juice box. She was occupied by whatever show was on Nickelodeon so Steve decided to go through her bookbag, like he does every night to see if she has any forms that need to be filled out or notes from her teacher.

Steve opens her folder and pulls out a form with an event her class was hosting called ‘Donuts with Dad’. He smiles and immediately pulls out his phone to send a text to Billy.

**Steve: Hey! Peyton has an event coming up on Thursday called Donuts with Dad. Do you want to go?**

**Billy: Sure! What time?**

**Steve: 10:00AM-11:00AM**

**Billy: Okay perfect. I’ll just let my boss know. Thanks for letting me know.**

**Steve: No problem.**

Well that was that. Steve wrote Billy’s name down then signed the form to be returned to Peyton’s teacher.

“Momma, I accidentally got peanut butter on the couch.”

Steve didn’t have a chance to put the form back into her folder and left it on the counter to tend to his daughter.

Meanwhile, Jake had just gotten home from work and tossed his keys in the bowl by the door and made his way through the kitchen. He spots the open folder on the counter and of course being his nosy self, goes to see what’s there. He picked up the form for Donuts with Dad and saw Billy’s name was written in Steve’s handwriting.

Jake grew extremely jealous that Billy gets to do everything with Peyton and he’s just left out in the dust. He heaves a heavy sigh and puts the paper down, trying to not let it bother him, and goes to find his boyfriend who was trying to get peanut butter out of their cream colored couch.

Thursday came and Peyton was thrilled to find out from Steve that her daddy would be joining her at school for the small event. She had requested a special hairstyle to show off to her father once she saw him. Steve somehow styled her hair into two fishtail braids with butterfly clips. She was satisfied with her look and gave him a big hug when he dropped her off at school.

10AM rolled around and Peyton’s class was brought to the cafeteria where all the dads had been waiting at tables with their name cards on them. She spotted Billy and was told by her teacher to quietly walk over to him.

“Hi daddy.” She smiles as her father gathers his little girl in his arms.

“Hey sweetheart. Look at how cute you are today. I love it.”

“Thank you. Momma let me pick out my outfit and he did my hair.”

“Wow. You guys did a great job.” He says as she sits down in the seat next to him. “So what’s new, bug?” He asks, sparking up conversation with his five year old.

Peyton goes on talking about her week at school and at home with Steve and Jake. They had their donuts then the class, as well as the dad’s were brought to the classroom so Peyton took the chance to show Billy around. She was such a sophisticated young lady, definitely takes after him in that area. She showed him around her classroom, her cubby, her art hanging on the walls, and even their class pet which was a goldfish named Stanley.

Sebastian was pleased with his daughter and all she’s done and/or learned in class. She had a great teacher and was learning new things everyday, getting smarter and smarter, even for his own liking. It was all part of growing up and he couldn’t fully accept his baby was turning into quite the young lady.

When it was time for him to go, he gave his daughter a big hug and kiss before returning back to work. He sat back in his office and smiled at a picture he still had up of him, Steve, and Peyton on her first birthday. Time really does fly, whether it’s good or bad, it goes on and every moment should be cherished or lived to the fullest, or at least he hoped.

**-Later-**

Jake had picked up Peyton from school and went to take out stuff for dinner while Peyton went off to play. He was not too happy after the argument he and Blaine had this morning over text. He’s been in a mood all day and Steve warned him not to take it out on his daughter or else but Jake wasn’t having it.

When he got the pasta boiling in the pot, he decided to check on Peyton and was shocked to see the mess she made with her toys.

“Um, excuse me? Can you please pick up your toys?”

“I’ll pick them up when I finish my book. I have...three pages left.”

“No! Pick them up now!”

“But Jakey!”

“NOW!” He yells.

Peyton’s eyes fill her tears and she closes her book, rushing to pick up her toys. She puts them all back into her toy bin then runs off to her room crying. Jake tried to stop her but just let her be. He sighs, making his way to the kitchen and pours himself a very large glass of wine.

By the time Steve came home from work dinner was ready and ready to be eaten. He noticed the tv was off and that Peyton was nowhere in sight. So, after saying a quick hello to his boyfriend, he went to go find his daughter.

“Peyton?” He lightly knocks on her door and doesn't hear anything so he opens it and finds her laying on her bed with her back to him. “Peyton? What’s the matter baby?” He asks, going to sit on her bed.

“Jakey yelled at me to put my toys away and-and I told him when I finished my book b-b-because I-I-I had three pages left and h-he yelled at me.” She whimpers, still crying. “I don’t like him anymore.”

Steve’s blood was boiling. He gives his daughter a sympathetic look and takes his jacket off before going out to confront Jake.

“What’s this I hear about you yelling at Peyton?”

“I asked her to put her toys away and she didn’t listen. When you are asked to do something you do it, no questions.” Jake says as he plates the food.

“Jake, she's five years old. She always cleans up after herself, you know that! Why all the sudden are you being like this? Is it because of this morning after the whole thing about Billy?”

Jake stays quiet and Steve starts to laugh not even believing his boyfriend was acting like he was in high school again.

“I can’t believe you’re getting so bent out of shape over this!”

“I can’t believe you’re taking his side!” Jake yells turning to face Steve. “You never stick up for me! You do everything for Peyton or Billy! When is it gonna be my turn!”

“That is not true! I do everything for you and Peyton is my daughter! I told you that if we were going to get serious she comes first!”

“Well why can’t I come first?!”

“She’s my daughter, Jake! What aren’t you getting?! She’s my life!”

“And what am I? Just a side piece?! Sure feels like it!”

They continued to scream at each other but what they didn’t know was that Peyton’s door had been left open so she could hear everything. She continued to cry and decided to call the only person she knew that would save her. She pulled Steve’s phone from his jacket pocket and went back to her bed wanting to call Billy. She pressed her father’s contact and brought the phone to her ear letting it ring.

“Hey, what’s up?” Billy asks, assuming he was talking to Steve.

“Daddy.” Peyton whimpers.

Billy sat up at his desk and clutched the phone tightly in his hands.

“Peyton? What’s wrong baby? Are you okay?”

“Daddy, momma and-and Jake a-are fighting c-can you come g-get me?” She asks.

“I’m on my way, baby. Hang tight okay? Do you want me to stay on the phone with you or?”

“Yes.”

“Okay. I’m leaving work right now. I’ll be there soon.” He tells her while gathering his things to bring home with him.

He informs his boss of the situation and Lisa, being the saint she was, let Billy go wanting to know how Peyton is doing later.

He stayed on the phone with his daughter and caught a cab, knowing they’d lose connection if he took the subway. He could hear Steve and Jake arguing from wherever they were in the house while he tried to talk to his daughter about other things.

When Billy arrived, he impatiently waited for the elevator but when it came, he got in and closed the doors right away letting Peyton know he was on his way up. He got to their floor and could hear their arguing and yelling from down the hall. He dug his old key from his bag and unlocked the door, going into the chaos.

“-Stop being so ignorant, Jake!” Steve spat and turned around, facing Billy.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jake asks in a very bitchy tone.

Billy went to answer but was stopped when Peyton ran from down the hall and wrapped her arms around his legs.

“She called me crying asking if I could pick her up.” He tells them.

Steve nods, and swallows as tears start to fall from his eyes.

“Thank you for coming. Please take her home and I’ll text you later to see how she is.” He says while rubbing a hand over his chest, clearly irritated about the current situation.

“Will do.” Billy says. “C’mon bug. Let’s go home.” He picks her up and grabs her bag, leaving the apartment right away with Peyton holding onto him for dear life.

Once they were gone, Steve wiped his face and turned back around to find Jake huffing and puffing.

“How are you just gonna let him take her away when she’s supposed to be here?!” Jake asks.

“She’s scared, Jake. Was I supposed to just let her stay here and cry because were arguing over stupid shit?!”

“Oh really? Your ex-husband should not be able to just waltz right in here and take her away from you. She needs to learn how to-“

“She’s five years old Jake! She doesn’t need to do anything for our relationship!”

“Ugh you people always let her get what she wants!”

“You people?! When are you going to understand that I am her mother and Billy is her father. You need to grow up and get over that fact that she’s not your blood and that she belongs to him!” Steve spat, pointing a finger at Jake.

“I don’t need to do shit! Don’t you remember how he treated you in high school? That asshole and his devious self, ugh I can’t stand him.”

“Well like it or not Jake he’s my daughter’s father. And don’t call him an asshole, we’ve grown up and aren’t in high school anymore! He may have done some things back then but he is my ex-husband and the father of my child. You have no right to talk about him like he’s some worthless piece of shit!”

“Steve-“

“Everything he does, he does for our daughter. She will always come first and if you don’t like it then leave! I’m not going to deal with this bullshit! Christ sakes Jake! Grow up!”

Steve goes to his room and slams the door while Jake storms out of the apartment, furious, leaving Steve wondering how the hell he got himself into this mess.

At Billy’s apartment, he and Peyton were lying on his bed, facing each other. She had tear tracks on her face and her eyes were red and puffy but she stopped crying once she got there and knew she was safe.

Billy waited once she was settled before he started to talk.

“You okay now, baby?”

“Mhm.” She nods and squeezes her stuffed elephant, Margo.

“So what happened?” He asks.

“Momma and Jake started f-fighting because he told me to put my toys away and-and I was going to after I f-finished coloring. J-Jake got mad and st-started yelling at me so I-I cleaned up my toys and-“ She started to get worked up again.

“It’s okay baby. Take some deep breaths.” He tells her, placing his hand on her hip.

“I-I went to my room cr-cried in my bed. ‘Den momma came home an-and ‘dey started yelling at each other s-so I called you be-because I was scared, daddy.”

“Oh baby. You’re safe now, okay. Daddy’s never gonna let anything happen to you.” He tells her as she cries into her stuffed elephant. He wasn’t really mad at Jake, just disappointed that Steve was letting their daughter be in that kind of environment. “Sweetheart, you have to understand that Jake is just confused about being a parental figure in your life. I’m sure he means no harm. He’s a nice person but he needs to find it in himself to realize he’s not me or momma.”

“Can we watch a movie here, daddy?” She asks and peeks up from her elephant.

“Sure baby. Why don’t you go pick one out and I’ll make us some popcorn.”

“Okay.” She hops off the bed and runs out of his room, Margo tagging along in her arms.

Billy gets off his bed and follows his daughter out to the front of his apartment. He heads to the kitchen while Peyton searched the movie cabinet in the living room for something she liked. Once he had the popcorn ready, Peyton had the movie in hand and they went back to his bedroom. He gave her the bowl while he popped in the movie for them.

The two of them crawl onto his bed and Peyton sits close to her daddy with Margo on the other side of her. As the movie starts she smiles and looks up at Billy who was munching on some popcorn.

“I love you.” She says. “I don’t want a new daddy.”

Billy stays quiet at first and just cuddles his girl to his side, “I love you too baby.”

**-Next day-**

“Daddy,” Peyton whimpers as she limps towards Billy in the living room. “I stubbed my toe.” She sniffles, big tears in his eyes, and her bottom lip pushed out.

“Aww baby. Let daddy see.” She hops on one leg as she places her foot in his lap, and grabs onto his shoulder for support. “Well there is no serious damage which is good. Daddy’s gonna make it better though okay?”

Peyton nods and Billy hoists her onto his hip. He carries her to the main bathroom and sets her on the closed toilet, then searches for the bandages in one of the drawers. He found some Little Mermaid ones and smiled pulling one out.

“Okay princess, daddy’s gonna put some neosporin on your toe then put on the band aid.” He tells her and rips the small packaging of the ointment. He put that on then sealed with a band aid and she was good to go. “There. Good as new, princess.”

“Thank you daddy.” She smiles and jumps into his arms.

“Can we watch a movie now?”

“Daddy has to finish working. I’ll be done when the clock reads 12:00 okay then we can do whatever you want.” He says.

“Okay!” He puts her back down and she runs off to her bedroom while he returns back to the living room.

She didn’t have school today so he decided to work a half day from home then spend some time with her to get her mind off of what happened the night before.

Peyton spent a few days with Billy while Jake and Steve worked out their problems and boy did they have a lot.

The following week wasn’t any better, Jake and Steve were still working out their differences but today Jake’s trust was put to the test when he got a phone call that Steve was unable to pick up Peyton from school due to a meeting he had to attend.

She was going to be back with Steve for the weekend because Billy had to go to Boston for a very important business meeting. So either way, she was going to be with them and not with her dad.

At the school, Peyton was waiting to be picked up, unbeknownst that Jake was even coming. When she sees him standing outside her classroom she refuses to let go of her teacher’s hand.

“Peyton, your ride is here honey. You have to go.” Miss Charlotte, Peyton’s teacher tried to walk with her to the door but Peyton resisted.

“No.” She shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes. “Please don’t make me go with him.”

Her teacher was shocked at her behavior but wasn’t about to put her student in danger if something was going on at home. “Okay, um, let me see if someone else can come pick you up. Go wait at the reading table, okay?”

Peyton nods, walking back into the classroom while her teacher politely asks Jake to wait out in the hall. She closes her door and pulls out Peyton’s file to call Steve. When it goes to voicemail, she sighs and calls Billy.

While at his office, Billy gets a phone call from a number he doesn’t recognize but answers it anyway.

“Hello?”

“Hi is this a Mister William Hargrove?”

“Speaking.”

“Hi, I’m Miss Charlotte, Peyton’s teacher.”

“Oh, is everything okay? Is Peyton hurt?” He asks, heart starting to beat, rapidly.

“She’s not hurt, um but she is having a slight panic attack. Your husband has sent someone by the name of Jake Walker to pick her up but she refuses to go with him. I don’t normally do this, but she didn’t seem comfortable going with him so would it be possible if you can come pick her up? Again, I am so sorry for bothering you at work.”

“No, no, don’t worry. Um.” Billy held the phone to his ear while looking up at the clock. “I’ll be there in ten minutes. Thank you for calling.”

“Of course. I’ll stay here with Peyton.”

“Thank you. See you soon.”

“Bye Mister Hargrove.”

Billy is able to leave work again and go pick up his daughter. When he shows up at the school, he could tell Jake was upset that Peyton appeared to be afraid of him.

“I’m sorry about this Billy.” Steve says, feeling bad that he had to leave work to come all the way here for this.

“It’s fine. Where’s Peyton?” He asks, looking around for his daughter.

Just then the classroom door opened and Peyton ran out, jumping into his arms, clinging to him. She was crying and hid her face in his neck.

“What’s the matter baby?” He asks, rubbing his hand along her back. “Shh, daddy’s here.” He soothed. Excuse us.” He adds and starts to walk down the hall with Peyton still in his arms.

“I want to go home with you.” She whimpers. “Please.”

“Daddy can’t take you home, Peyton. I’m going away this weekend for work remember? That’s why you’re gonna stay with momma and Jake.” His heart ached hearing how sad his daughter sounded. He wanted to cry too seeing her so sad. How was he gonna be able to let her go?

“I don’t want to go with Jake.” She cries. Her body was trembling in her father’s arm as he tried to soothe her.

“You have to, honey. I know you don’t want to but momma will be getting out of work soon so you can stay in your room until he gets home.”

“No.” She shakes her head again and squeezes him. “Please don’t make me.”

She was making this so hard for him but he held it together and stayed strong.

“I promise that you can call me every night when I’m gone, okay? Then when you get back me and you can do whatever you want. But you have to stay with momma and Jake this weekend.” She whimpers again, hot tears streaming down her face and soaking his shirt. “Can you be the brave little girl I know you are and go with Jake.”

She doesn’t answer at first then slowly starts to nod her head a small “Okay” is heard next to his ear.

“Yeah? Okay.” He gives her a big hug and kiss. “I love you so much, Peyton. If you need me just call me, but ask first okay?”

“Okay. I love you daddy.” She says.

He puts her down and they walk back to Miss Charlotte and Jake.

“She’s gonna go with you, Jake.” Billy says, holding onto her hand.

“Okay. I’m sorry you had to come all the way down here.”

“It’s fine. I just hope she’s gonna be okay.”

“I’ll take care of her.” Jake says as Peyton grabs hold on his hand. “We’re gonna have fun this weekend.” He tells her with a wink. “Say bye to daddy so we can go.”

Billy and his daughter bid another goodbye then went their separate ways. He wasn’t so sure about leaving Peyton with Jake but knew he needed to prove himself to her, Steve, and Billy so maybe it was a good thing. Plus if he ever put his hands on her he’d be dead before he can even say sorry. At least that’s how Billy sees it.

Peyton was silent during the walk home and held Jake’s hand the entire time but she didn’t not make a peep. When they were inside, she went straight to her bedroom and decided to play there until Steve came home so she could see him.

As the day carried onto in night, Peyton was very clingy to Steve and did not leave his side. She wanted Billy so badly but knew he wasn’t gonna be back for a few days so she had to brave the storm. After her bath, she Skyped Billy and talked with him until she fell asleep.

Afterwards, Steve pours himself a glass of wine and has a talk with Jake about what happened earlier at school. Jake tells him everything that happened and felt rather upset about what happened earlier.

“I’m sorry that she’s been clingy tonight. I know you wanted to have us time but, I can’t blame her for wanting me all the time. I mean, I am her mother but she still hasn’t been able to trust you. She wants to but she doesn’t know how.”

“I know. I just don’t know what to do for her to trust me.”

“I don’t know either but I hope we’ll be able to work it out.” Steve says and sips his wine.

**\---**

It was close to 10:15PM, when Steve had just finished another episode of Grey’s Anatomy along with a bottle of wine and ice cream. He turned off the TV and walked into the kitchen to put his dishes into the sink. As he was about to turn in for the night, something caught his attention.

“Momma?” Peyton steps into the dimly lit kitchen, and walks to her momma.

“Hey baby. What are you doing up?” He asks, stroking her hair.

“I can’t sleep. I wan’ to make some warm milk.” She says and hugs his legs, letting out a small yawn.

“Momma can make it for you okay?”

Peyton nods and pulls out a chair from the table to sit. She watches Steve get a mug from the cabinet and the milk from the fridge, pouring her a cup. He pops it in the microwave and lets it warm up.

“So what did you and daddy talk about earlier?” He asks, sitting in the other chair.

“What we’re gonna do when he gets back.” She says, proudly smiling. She loved talking about or with her daddy. Steve knows how much he means to her and still finds it adorable how much she cares about it.

“Oh yea? Anything fun?”

“He said we might go see a show on bro-bro-“ She struggles.

“Broadway?”

“Yeah! You go there momma?”

“I’ve been to Broadway plenty of times, sweetie.”

“Really?”

“Mhm.” He hums.

“You can be on broadway someday too.”

“I can?! But I wanna be a princess.” She beams.

“You can still be a princess on broadway.”

“But I wan’ live in a big castle with you and daddy and-“

“Jake?”

Before Peyton can reply, the microwave beeps and she is literally saved by the bell.

Steve takes the mug out while Peyton gets up from her seat. They push their chairs in and he turns off the lights, leaving the stove light on just in case someone woke up later on. Peyton led the way to her bedroom and Steve grabbed an album off the shelf on the way. He waited until his daughter was settled in bed and handed her the milk then slid in beside her, still holding onto the album.

“What’s that momma?” She points to the album in his lap.

“This is something I made when you were a baby. It’s called an album. They can be used for many things but I used it to document my pregnancy with you.” He tells her and opens to the first page.

“This,” He points to a sonogram, “Is what you looked like inside my belly when daddy and I found out about you. You were the size of a bean, crazy right?”

“Yeah momma!” She sips her milk and watches Steve flip through the pages of the album.

There were pictures of more sonograms, Steve with his belly on display, a few prompts he wrote to her, he made sure he put everything in this book in case she ever wanted to look at it one day.

He turns to another page and points to another black and white sonogram.

“Peyton, can you tell me what this says?” He asks.

“Umm, it says it’s a girl. What does that mean? The bean was a girl?’

“No silly. That’s you. See how it looks more like a baby now. That was when me and daddy found out we were having a girl and you wanna know a secret?”

“What?” She asks, looking up at him.

“Daddy cried.”

“Why? Was he sad?”

“Not at all.” Steve says and smiles slightly. “Daddy and I were so happy that we were getting a little princess. Those were happy tears.”

“Oh. Can we keep going?”

“Of course. Let’s see what else is in here.” Steve says. It’s been a while since he’s gone through these pages so it’s nice looking through everything again, now with his daughter.

They passed some more sonograms, more pictures of Steve and Billy, pictures of her finished nursery that Steve was so proud of and kept bragging to people at work because of how good it turned out. He couldn’t stop smiling as he went through each page, telling his daughter about everything. He was now in the section of his baby shower for Peyton. He was huge, well he was eight months pregnant at the time, but he was glowing. There was one photo from this section he loved and had a duplicate hidden at his office at work. In the black and white picture, Steve was staring at Billy with his hands cupped underneath his large belly while Billy had a hand splayed across Steve’s protruding bump and was staring back at Steve with that smile. It was Steve’s favorite and when their divorce was finalized, he stared at the picture forever and cried. He fell out of love with his best friend and it hurt. It stung in every part of his body.

Anyway, Steve sighs and continues to flip through the pages. He got to one that Peyton questioned again.

“What’s daddy doing momma?” She asks.

“Daddy was reading to you. You most likely don’t remember that but when you were in my belly daddy used to talk to you, sing to you, and read to you every night because you liked to stay awake and kick inside my belly.”

“Did I like it when he did those things?”

“Oh you loved it, Peyton. Every time daddy would talk to you, you would either kick at his hand or move around, letting us know you were listening.” He tells her and looks at another picture of Billy with his head on Steve’s belly just feeling their girl move around. Feeling the life they created move inside him. He missed those days terribly.

Steve was finally reaching the end which was when Peyton was either about to be born, being born, or after she was born. Steve knew which pictures his daughter couldn’t see of the birth because well they were pretty graphic and he wasn’t about to explain all that to a five year old at 10:30 at night. So, quickly passing those pictures he gets to some from after she was born and the first picture on the page was of Billy holding his newborn baby girl smiling at the camera. He looked tired but was overjoyed over the birth of his daughter.

“Is that me?”

“Yep. That’s you.” He says.

“I was so little and squishy.”

“Yeah.” Steve giggles. “You were. It’s crazy how much you’ve changed since then.”

“Was daddy happy when I was born?”

“Of course he was. Daddy was so excited to finally see you that he couldn’t wait to hold you. Especially right when you were born he ran out into the hall and was jumping up and down screaming he was a father-“

Steve thinks back to that day and hearing Billy in the hall, not only embarrassing himself but his husband and newborn baby girl who was fresh out of the womb. They hadn’t even taken Steve’s legs out of the stirrups yet and Billy just left once he cut the cord to share the news. When he came back, she was being swaddled up and given to Steve. As she was placed into her mother’s arms, her proud father stood beside the bed still crying and smiling and feeling all his love he’s never felt before.

“-We were so happy you were finally here, Peyton. You have no idea.”

Peyton tries to speak but stifles up a yawn and continuously blinks to keep herself awake.

“Getting sleepy?”

She nods and Steve takes the mug, setting it on her nightstand. He gets off the bed and tucks her in.

“Goodnight momma.” She mumbles.

“Goodnight sweetheart.” He leans down and presses a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Steve shuts off her lamp and takes the album, quietly leaving her room. He closes her door, leaving a crack, and pads across the hall to his bedroom. Jake was already on his side asleep with the tv on low. Steve set the album onto the chair in the corner and climbed into bed beside his boyfriend. He plugs in his phone then grabs the remote to turn off the tv. Now with the room quiet, he lets out a soft sigh and snakes his arm around Jake, pulling him close to his chest, falling asleep to Jake’s soft snores.

**-One Week Later-**

Billy invited Jake and Steve over for some pizza because Steve had texted him saying he wants to get a chance to have Jake and their daughter talk with them present so he accepts. Peyton, however, wasn’t excited about seeing Jake again. Last weekend felt like a lifetime until Billy got back home but she was with him now and didn’t want to ever leave his side.

The two of them spent most of the day cleaning around his apartment, so that it looked presentable for Steve, mostly Jake knowing how judgmental he is when it comes to design.

As it neared 4:30, Peyton started to quiet down and Billy knew it was setting in that he’d be there soon.

“P, c’mere baby.” He tells her while patting his lap.

Peyton sets her tablet aside and goes to the couch, being pulled onto her father’s lap.

“I know you’re scared about Jake and momma coming over but I want you to be brave for me okay? I’m not going to let anything happen to you neither is your mother okay? We’re gonna be here the whole time.”

“Is Jakey gonna behave, daddy?”

“He better. If not then daddy’s gonna hurt him.” Billy says, earning a small laugh from his daughter.

“You don’t mean that daddy. He just needs time to think about what he’s done.” She says, fiddling with her fingers.

Billy smirks and tucks a piece of hair behind her ear, “You’re right. Daddy won’t hurt him.” He tells her and kisses her cheek before removing her from his lap.

By 5PM, Jake and Steve had arrived and exchanged their hellos between Billy and Peyton, who was hiding behind her father’s leg. Billy then directs them towards the living room so they could sit while they waited for the pizza to come. Peyton went back to coloring her picture, ignoring the men behind her.

It’s kinda awkward at first but both Jake and Steve wanted to apologize to Billy and his daughter so Jake went first, breaking the silence amongst the four of them.

“I like what’cha drawing there, Peyton.” Jake says, earning a smile from both Billy and Steve.

“Thank you.” She says and continues to color the princess she was drawing.

“Uh Peyton, there are some things I’d like to say to you if that’s okay.” Jake was hesitant as she spoke and rubbed his sweaty palms against his jeans, hoping she would at least listen to him.

“Peyton, listen to Jake please.” Billy tells her.

Peyton sets her crayon aside and backs up towards Billy’s legs, away from Jake.

“I want to say that I am sorry for how I acted towards you and for yelling at you and scaring you. I didn’t mean to frighten you honey. I just had a bad day at work, but that’s still no excuse to take it out on you at all. And Billy, I’m sorry for being such an uptight B-I-T-C-H at times but I promise I’m working on it and myself and I wish you two would forgive me or at least think about it and let us be friends”

The father and daughter share a look with each other.

“What do you think, Peyton? Do you forgive Jake?” Billy asks.

She slowly nods her head and goes over to Jake, grabbing onto his hand.

“I forgive you Jakey and I wan’ be friends too.” She says and gives him a hug.

“Aww, thank you honey. And, I really am sorry for scaring you. I promise it will never happen again.” He says, hugging her just a bit tighter before they pull away from each other.

“I forgive you too momma.” She says to Steve, throwing her arms around her.

“Thank you sweetheart. I’m sorry too and should never put you in harm’s way. I promise I’ll do better, we’ll do better.” He says, nodding at Jake. “I love you Peyton.”

“I love you too, momma!”

All three men are glad that Peyton was finally realizing who Jake was in her life and that she’s gotten more open in their relationship.

The four of them eat their pizza together, actually having a nice dinner together for the first in, well ever.

“Do you want to come home tonight Peyton or stay with daddy again?” Steve asks.

“Ummm.” She looks towards Billy who shrugs.

“You can stay another night if you’d like honey. Daddy doesn’t care.” Billy tells her.

“Okay then! I’ll stay with daddy!”

“Alright.”

After dinner, Peyton asks Jake for a makeover so he gives her two french braids and uses her “play makeup” to doll her up. He knew not to use much because that stuff was not good for skin, especially skin as beautiful as hers. When he was done, she ran to her parents who were sharing a glass of wine in the living room.

“Look momma! I’m pretty!”

“You’re always pretty baby. Jake did a good job.” Steve smiles watching her twirl around over and over again.

“Did you say thank you.” Billy asks and sets his wine glass down onto the coffee table.

“Thank you Jakey!” Peyton gives Jake a big hug and even presses a kiss to his cheek.

“You’re welcome, sweetie. You look beautiful.” He tells her as they break their embrace.

“Thank you.” She smiles once more then goes to clean up all the makeup and hair clips left in the bathroom.

Later on that night, Jake and Steve left and Billy was getting Peyton ready for bed. She was putting away the last of her toys then jumped into her bed after being threatened by the tickle monster.

“C’mere munchkin.” Billy pulls the covers back for her and she slides under them, ready to get warm and cozy. “Okay, all tucked in?”

“Yes daddy.”

“Good.” He smiles and strokes her hair. “You know, I am very proud of you tonight. You did a good thing by forgiving Kurt. I know he really appreciated it and meant what he said.”

“I know daddy. I don’t want Jakey to be mean to me or you anymore. I want everyone to be happy.” She says and Billy holds a hand over his heart.

“Oh sweetie, you have such a sweet soul.” He tells her and kisses her forehead. “Don’t ever let people tell you different.”

“I won’t.” She then stifles a yawn and scoots down more under the covers. “I tired daddy.”

“Okay baby. Get some sleep.” He says and stands up, making sure she was all set. “Daddy will be in his room okay?”

“Okay. G’night.”

“Goodnight sweet girl.” He says softly and places a kiss onto her cheek before leaving her room.

Billy walks across the hall to his own bedroom and shuts the door, not all the way in case Peyton comes in. He takes off his shirt in one swift motion then pads his way across the room to his bed.

Once Billy was under the covers, he turned to his side and sighs while grabbing one of the picture frames from his nightstand. Of course, it had a picture of Peyton in it and it was taken on her fourth birthday. Billy smiles at the photo and moves his finger along the frame. His little lady was wise beyond her years and he could not be more proud or honored that he is her father. He got lucky that Steve chose him to be with, although they didn’t last, they have Peyton and Billy wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world, maybe not even love. Peyton means everything to him, he’ll never take that away from her.


End file.
